Such A Tiny Human
by Milarca
Summary: Spock suddenly has his hands full when Kirk is accidentally changed into a rambunctious four year old with a mind of his own. Undercurrents of harmless slash because it is such fun to play with our two boys; could be rated K, but T to be safe. -on hold-
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Is this really my first Star Trek story? Huh. That's kinda cool ;)

* * *

"Scotty took me to the big engine! It was huuuuuuuge!" A grinning four-year-old Jim animatedly told a now Acting Captain Spock, stretching his arms as wide as they would go. His giddiness was like a whirl of energy on the bridge and Spock was having difficulty keeping the small human in his lap. Stars sped by on the forward screen as they neared the Andorian homeworld. Spock was simultaneously monitoring all stations while keeping up with Jim's running commentary. To say the least, that was the easy part. Jim turned around suddenly, his eyes bright and expectant. "And after _that_, he took me to McCoy, who put me on a high-bed." Jim thought for a moment, turning back around and gazing towards the ceiling, just noticing the lights up there. He gazed at them. "That was boring though," he said finally, rolling his eyes.

Jim's high-pitched voice lowered slightly and it sounded so like the adult-version of himself, it was difficult for Spock not to take note of it. Spock took the rare thoughtfulness of the young boy and repositioned his arms firmly around Jim's small waist. Jim could wiggle when he wanted to and Spock could keep him firmly on his lap, where he would not interfere with any of the other bridge crew. Being a Vulcan was also part of the reason he had taken charge of this accidentally de-aged Jim; as impossible as it was, he was practically the only one _capable_ of handling the energetic "bundle of joy."

Spock had little experience with children, and he was finding it... sufficiently challenging. He found the dynamic strange; a first officer taking care of his captain who had de-aged into that of a young child. Despite this, he took the duty as seriously as he would any other, entertaining and keeping an eye on Kirk while captaining the starship. It wasn't so difficult if your IQ was higher than humanly possible, but little humans could stretch even _those_ qualifications to their limits.

"I don't think I'm allowed in Medbee anymore though," Jim recounted, disheartened. "McCoy got mad at me when I broke a… a _hi-po_. I didn't like that; McCoy is scary when he's angry." Kirk looked away and gulped. Doctors were frightening when you broke their things.

Despite Spock's own emotional control, he could read human emotion rather well, and noticed Jim's glum mood was apparent to everyone.

"I can sympathize," he said to his young charge after a moment.

Only, Jim wasn't listening. Spock didn't notice this until he spied his now _second_-youngest crewmember facing him and making slightly silly expressions at Jim. He heard the human giggle softly. Spock sent a disapproving look in Chekov's direction. The navigator's eyebrows rose, having been caught in the act, and he gave a faint, guilty smile.

"I'll… go back to vork now," he laughed tensely once.

Spock raised an eyebrow and Chekov sighed in defeat, giving Jim one last cross-eyed grin before reluctantly turning back to his instruments.

Kirk had settled down finally, finding sitting cross-legged much more comfortable, and looked around contentedly. He leaned back into Spock and seemed to relax on the soft material and warm core that supported him. The Vulcan's hands had retreated to just a light touch on his sides, so if the ship shook suddenly Jim wouldn't go flying.

Kirk was suddenly quite adamant about examining Spock's hands, taking the Vulcan's right in his own. Spock's eyes widened and he glanced down. Jim took Spock's hand and held it up first, then the individual fingers, curling and uncurling.

As Kirk did this, Spock felt tiny sparks fly up his arm, the surprising warmth reminding him of days past, of innocent caresses igniting a burning ache in him. He barely breathed as Jim played with his strong yet highly sensitive fingers.

Jim was quiet, finding every crease and imperfection with wonder. Overcome at one point, he pressed Spock's curled hand to his cheek to feel the heat radiating from the Vulcan. It was a comforting sensation.

The action took Spock by surprise. The corners of his mouth twitched and he watched Jim affectionately. At the back of his mind he noted the undeniable urge to reciprocate, but he did not dwell. There would soon be a time for all, and right now, Jim simply needed him to be there.

A small giggle cut through Spock's melancholy. He turned to the source of the noise and found Uhura grinning at him.

"Look, Spock," she motioned to Jim.

Confused, Spock turned and found his hand parted in a perfect imitation of the Vulcan salute. Jim held his milky green hand for a moment more before turning it over to investigate Spock's sharp knuckles.

Spock could not look away from where his hand had been splayed; the ancient symbol of well-wishes and prosperity formed unknowingly by a child. How did such a coincidence seem so significant to him?

He blinked to get a hold on himself. _And just in time, too_, he thought as the ship suddenly dropped out of warp. The happy motions ceased as Jim stared, wide-eyed at the planet Andoria now in full view beneath them.

The bridge seemed to thaw and a flurry of activity broke out as they entered orbit. Chekov and Sulu were still finalizing their position as the government hailed them. Spock gave a few commands but was otherwise occupied.

Upon seeing the massive, crystalline sphere that was directly ahead, Jim Kirk became a struggling mass of determination and willpower.

"Spock lemme _down_! I wanna see the—the _planet_, look—"

Jim made a small noise of frustration as Spock held tight. He tried to squirm down and out of Spock's arms, but Spock dexterously navigated to stop his actions. Jim stopped and huffed, finally looking up at Spock with pleading eyes.

"I wanna see the planet up close, Spock," Kirk's chin wobbled and he looked back longingly and then around again, judging if he could get away the second time. He didn't see how and turned back, more urgently this time.

"Spock, Spock, let me down, please, please, _please!_" His tiny fists were balled and he jiggled up and down in agitation and eagerness, swiftly looking from to the screen to Spock, Spock to the screen. He couldn't understand why he wasn't allowed down; he _wanted_ down.

"Please…?" he tried one more time.

Spock debated for a moment, before finally relenting. He set Kirk down on the deck and the human squealed in delight. Jim ran to the front screen.

Passively, Spock watched Jim press first his hands to the glass, and then his nose. Now that he was not otherwise occupied, Spock noticed the crew were working well, more so than usual even. In spare moments, a few gave Jim looks of adoration, the general mood significantly improved. It was tangible; the humans' emotions were stronger when a child of their own was among them, the desire to protect and be good around him infectious.

Distantly, Spock heard the turbolift doors open, and the easy stride of the ship's CMO. McCoy stopped to lean languidly on the railing just to Spock's side.

"Yer' hands full yet, Spock?" McCoy chuckled low, a cheerful smugness in his voice.

"Indeed, Doctor." Spock placed his fingers together and glanced back to McCoy. "He is quite vigorous for a child."

"A _Vulcan_ child, maybe, but adventurous as they come for a human." McCoy grinned, enjoying the whole situation immensely.

"Yes, I am beginning to see that." Spock's eyebrows rose and his voice lowered tiredly. This earned him a low laugh from the doctor.

"Ah, don't worry about it, Spock; we'll have him back to normal in no time."

"I do not doubt it, Doctor."

"We're being hailed, Captain," Uhura informed him.

"Forward monitor," Spock returned.

Moments later, an Andorian space traffic controller appeared onscreen, her smiling, pleasant blue face filling the glass. Bobbed white hair curled around her ears, and blue antennae poked through the top of her head.

Kirk looked up; eyes wide at the image that now filled the screen.

Spock's expression didn't falter as he quickly gained Chekov's attention.

"Chekov," The direct command was understood, as the wide-eyed ensign squeaked, "Aye." He scrambled out of his chair to scoop Jim up, despite startled protests.

"I am Tifiq," the Andorian STC said, her voice tinkling. "Weelcome to Andoria Captain Spouck and _Enterprise_ crew. I troost you eentered orbit without deefficuulty?" Her Federation Standard was enunciated with an Andorian accent but she did not lack conviction in the statement, and her eyes were warm.

Spock inclined his head, returning the greeting.

"Indeed we did, I believe I may say 'thank you' on behalf of the _Enterprise_ and her crew. I trust Andoria's government is in a position to uphold earlier arrangements?"

"Ceertainly; the beeam-down coordineetes are being transmitted to youur veessl. Oh!" she exclaimed, a light blue blush rising to her cheeks as she spied Jim staring wide-eyed.

McCoy noticed this as well and sighed interally. Even as a toddler the guy was an insufferable ladies magnet.

"How _adoooooureeble_…" the woman cooed, the high tones of her voice washing over the bridge like honey glaze.

Yep. There went his appetite. No matter how sugar sweet the voice was, if Jim was the cause, he wanted no part in it.

Spock's reaction was far _less_ visual than McCoy's slight grimace, but his body still went infinitesimally stiffer at the reaction Kirk garnered.

Far from the realm of his two gaping friends, _though they should have hardly been surprised_, Jim Kirk was suddenly plummeted out of dreamland when the pretty-faced girl turned and spoke to _him_. His eyes widened and he gulped. His hesitancy only lasted a second however, and then he grinned widely.

"Hi!"

"He_llo_, there. You'ree a very sweet leettle boy. Is this the huuman youu require our servicees for, Ceeptain Spouck? A one, Ceeptain _Keerk_?"

"He is, Miss Tifiq." Spock spoke levelly, watching Chekov's indulgent cuddling with wary distaste.

McCoy could have sworn the pointy-eared hobgoblin had about said 'unfortunately'. _He_ sure wanted to say it. Not that Kirk was unfortunately_ Kirk_, but that he was _unfortunately _around two decades younger than he should be.

"And I shall be quite relieved when he is back to his… regular self," Spock said with obvious relief.

"Captain," Uhura called quietly, gaining his attention. "I have the coordinates and have sent them to the transporter room."

"Of course, thank you, Lieutenant. Miss Tifiq, I am appreciative of your services, and if you will excuse us, we shall beam down immediately."

"Understood, Ceeptain Spouck." She ended the call, resuming the screen to its brilliant glassiness showing the planet below. Kirk babbled happily in Chekov's arms as the Russian crooned to him in his native tongue. Spock steepled his fingers.

What would this technology do to Kirk besides the intended effect? He would again be an adult but would there be any side-effects? No. Though he was not completely familiar with the machine or the techniques used, he had high trust in the Andorians besides the fact that this was the only solution to their problem. The scientists there had assured him the science used was perfectly safe and tested; he had even glanced at blueprints for it and found nothing to be faulty. Still, he found himself worrying.

"Why, Spock…" McCoy said after a moment of silence, "if I didn't know you better I'd bet you were feeling something more than just normal precaution."

"It is logical, Doctor, to have slight doubts about an invention I am not perfectly sure of, when the safety of our commanding officer is the element that will be effected should it fail to operate correctly."

"Right." He let that hang there in attempt to make Spock uncomfortable, but the Vulcan rose quickly, issuing orders like the conversation had never taken place. sighed softly.

"Chekov, you will accompany Engineer Scott and myself down to the planet momentarily. Sulu, you have the con."

"Aye, Captain," Sulu said from forward control.

Spock turned to the doctor. "Doctor McCoy, if you will excuse me." He stepped around the CMO to enter the turbolift, but as soon as he turned around to wait for Chekov, he stepped slightly back into the bridge in alarm.

The young ensign had just awkwardly handed Kirk to Sulu, who looked uncomfortable to be holding his friend like the child he currently was, when said child suddenly burst into tears, reaching in Spock's general direction. Sulu looked more alarmed than any of them, and held Kirk back out to Chekov.

"Aye!" The Russian exclaimed, turning back to Kirk to comfort the small boy. "Zer, zer, do not cry little vone..." He patted Kirk's shoulder soothingly, and Kirk settled marginally, whimpering quietly. His anguish reached everyone on the bridge. Kirk's sobs echoed and everyone was still, the little scene like a tableau.

For several seconds this went on with growing tension occupying the crew. A few looked to Spock. Spock, who was standing as still as a stone, face closed off to the casual observer.

Uhura was one who immediately saw the infinitesimal changes on Spock's face, saw them for what they were. As Chekov attempted to control a confused and scared little boy, Spock's eyebrows knitted together, his lips hovering on an order. To Uhura, it looked like Spock could not bear to be away from Kirk as much as Kirk couldn't fathom a separation himself. The only difference was that Kirk vocalized these feelings, eyes full of tears. But Spock's body language was just as revealing.

Spock did not move for a good thirty seconds, seeing Kirk looking directly at him with confusion and pain in his young eyes.

He soon found himself beside the trio, his own eyes locked onto two desperate, crying ones.

"Spock, Spock," Jim sobbed out almost incoherently, making grabby motions at the stiff Vulcan.

The Russian, just noticing Spock standing there, stopped his feeble actions and looked worriedly at his captain, his eyes darting back and forth.

"Perhaps it would be wise to bring Kirk along if he is this adamant, Chekov," Spock said without a hint of emotion.

"Aye... aye, sir." But before he could take Jim—now struggling even more—Spock's hands reached out to take the small body in his own. Sulu obliged willingly, almost pushing him into Spock's arms.

"Oh, thank God," Sulu sighed, happy to be rid of Kirk.

Once in possession of the small human, Spock gingerly twisted Kirk around while simultaneously moving a hand to support the child. He hugged Jim close, one arm protectively around the human who had happily and immediately curled into him, grinning and giggling.

Spock readjusted his position to account for the added weight and dipped his head down to gaze at the top of one caramel head. His eyes mellowed and the corners of his mouth turned up.

It was only with the Vulcan dignity he was born with that Spock was able to again enter the turbolift with Chekov, completely ignorant yet fully aware of the broad grins that had swept the bridge.

"Keptin?" Chekov asked as the doors slid shut, voice bubbling over with happiness.

"Yes, Ensign," Spock asked in a daze that only a fellow Vulcan would recognize in a conversation.

"May I sing to him again?"

Spock looked up sharply and then down at Chekov, who gazed just as dazedly at Kirk.

The navigator chanced to look up and see the stern eyes of his commanding officer looking at him.

"No, Ensign."

His eyes widened in surprise.

"Vhy not?"

"Because, Ensign, I said so."

Chekov earnestly searched Spock's face and after a moment, saw a tiny glint of amusement in their solemn depths, one that twinkled with merriment.

He smiled again. "Aye, Keptin." He sighed, looking down into Kirk's face.

"He is such a sweet, tiny weetle thing…"

Letting out a small breath, Spock allowed a sense of quiet peace wash over him. "I could not agree more."

* * *

**A/N: **Thank you, bookworm-4-ever2012, for being an awesome beta and fixing some errors on my part :) And as a last note: please review! Constructive criticism, comments and love are all welcome, even if it's just something like 'I liked it'. Reviews are food for the brain! It only takes you two seconds, and I can guarantee it will seriously _make_ my day.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **I just want to say thank you to my beta, bookworm-4-ever2012, and all those who read, reviewed and faved this story; I was completely blown away by the response ^_^ So, as per request, here is chapter two.

* * *

**Chapter Two: Two Weeks Ago**

_Soaked to the bone_  
_Sink like a stone_  
_I will take you home_  
_It's not the first time_  
_It's not the worst crime_  
_Our souls will be okay_

For one horrible moment, the high-pitched shriek of agony forced Spock to turn his head away and close his eyes as if he too were suffering. A wail accompanied this soon after, but Spock was going, going again, swiftly navigating through the labyrinth of jagged volcanic rock with only his keen eyesight and the thread-like rays of light for guidance in the inky blackness.

He did not need to calculate probability to know that a sound like that was never good. Not on Earth, not on Vulcan, and certainly not here. And though his heart, icy with dread, raced as furiously as a hummingbird's wings, he did not need to catch his breath; his lungs automatically reacted to the strain. He did not need to rest because his body and muscles were well acquainted with strenuous exertion. It was only his mind that betrayed him. It ran with notions of gruesome scenes and irreversible damage to one body that, despite being completely separate from his own and whose heart beat a number of times _less_ than his own, was still as important as, and perhaps even _more_ than, his own. It placed those images so close to his active, yet hollow, window of sight, that he was having difficulty seeing. He realized this and allowed himself to stop for the smallest portion of a minute to regain his composure before continuing.

When it seemed he would never reach his destination, a shallow pool, illuminated by a glowing underwater source, came into view. Spock's eyes swept over the tiny cavern in seconds and he hurried down the rocky side to search the pool. Azure light refracted by the water danced in feathery patterns along Spock's face and every rocky surface it could reach. At first nothing presented itself as being in the form of a human, but as his eyes began to look for _anything_ out of place in desperation, he saw a sticky conglomeration of tar that floated and swayed in the rippled water and hung to the hard rocks that littered the pool. Without a second thought, his mind automatically rejected that and he moved on, searching around the back, in corners and even the ceiling, hung with multitudinous stalactites.

This was all done in less than a minute, but before he was 100 percent certain Kirk was not in this place or dead in some hidden nook or cranny, a light sound; a whimper, met his ears like the first notes from a ka'athyra before the song; or mist before rain.

But where...?

His eyes snapped to the sticky, black glob and, when he discounted the rocking motion from the water, found that it shook minutely. The form was underneath what Spock now realized was fabric. Was it some type of water-dwelling alien animal? Spock investigated, drawing nearer, and disconcerted that the thing had a humanoid-shaped head. He stepped lightly into the shallow pool, making not a sound. He took the fabric in his hand, and felt the top of the animal's head under that. Gently but firmly, for he knew not if unnecessary force would harm the creature underneath, he pulled off the black cover.

What Spock saw made his eyes widen and his hand freeze for a moment in surprise. Though it looked like a human child in every way, Spock was still at a loss; the laws of science rebelled against this bizarre notion.

It looked like his captain, but how could it _possibly_ be?

The child, having been uncovered, jerked to look at Spock, his pink frame shivering and his teeth chattering with cold. He gasped and whipped his hands out in subconscious protection. How useful they would be against the cold, satanic face with clear, onyx eyes that seemed to root inside his skull and stay there, or the heavy boots which looked like they could crush something his size without a second thought, he did not know. He cried out in surprise and accidentally fell backwards, automatically twisting his hands behind him for support. It made a splash in the cold water and he whimpered in pain again at the sharp rocks, adjusting so most of his body weight was supported by his left arm. His bare chest rose and fell quickly as his body responded with the fight-or-flight response. He looked up in trembling fear at the black-clad stranger, not daring to move another muscle.

Spock looked down at the child cowering in fear, the black fabric barely covering him in the water.

When no response was forthcoming, Jim felt the cold again, chilling his body and hands and feet and... he started to cry. Tiny sobs at first and then tearful wails. He was tired and freezing and wet and hungry, and the rocks were digging into his palms. Miserable and hiccupping wet sobs, he pulled himself up and then... felt warm hands on his torso. He yelped and shuddered, pulling back from the alien grip and curling his hands in front of him. Spock retracted his hands enough for Jim to regain some courage and look uncertainly up at him.

"It is alright, little one, I will not harm you."

After a heavy silence, the quiet admission of absolute truth calmed Jim. He looked wonderingly into Spock's eyes and was quickly taken into warm arms.

Spock pulled the fabric out of the water, squeezing it so that it would dry. He then draped it on his arm and held Jim out again, carefully wrapping the damp shirt around his small body.

Though still highly confused and more tired than he thought possible, Jim peered at his rescuer. The cold eyes were still as emotionless as before but had softened as the man worked to settle Jim in his arms.

Finally, the alien asked, "Are you comfortable?" and he could only nod shyly up at Spock. Exhausted, he leaned into the warm chest and felt an arm go around him.

His captain having been found, for the most part, Spock tried his communicator again, snapping it open.

"Spock to _Enterprise_, Spock to _Enterprise_, come in, _Enterprise_."

Static... static...

"Captain—Spock—" static, then: "before you break—translate—warning—"

"_Enterprise?_"

"Commander, finally," Lieutenant Uhura's voice came through clearly this time. "Before you break up, we've translated the alien cries coming through your communicators. The creatures weren't attacking; they were frantically trying to warn you." She sounded grave, "They are as peaceful as we first thought them to be. Commander, is everything alright?"

"We are both uninjured, Lieutenant," he said, sidestepping the truth, "We will go to the cave entrance where you can then beam us up, is this clear?"

"You're finished, sir?"

"Yes, there has been an unforeseen complication and we must return to the ship immediately."

"Affirmative, Commander." she said, uneasy about the call and the strange situation of their two commanding officers.

He closed his communicator, ending the call.

x

Though Spock could not understand the strange, slug-like creatures, he got the gist of their motions, which were mostly aimed at the tired, shivering human in his arms. They explained they were aware of what was in the caves, but that none of their knowledge would be of help in reversing the effects of the pool. They were deeply sorry that it had happened, and offered shelter if he would like. Spock respectfully declined.

Jim followed the aliens' movements if he was facing them, but otherwise simply stared blindly in front of him to keep awake. When Spock pulled out his communicator and again summoned the ship, the flashing lights and swirling energy were a surprise to him. He held tighter to Spock, pushing his face into the Vulcan's chest yet still watching in half wonder, half confused fear.

When they materialized, Spock hastened off the transporter pad. Scotty looked up in time to see a flash of something light cradled in his commander's arms before the Vulcan was gone.

But where was the captain? He looked swiftly to his instruments. He had beamed up two beings, but only Spock had materialized...? Was he going blind? He squinted, blinking.

"What is it, sir?" his second asked, just looking up himself.

Scotty gaped, trying to form words. He looked up and searched the pad, as if Kirk was in a corner somewhere.

"I dunna' ...but it looked almost like... the captain..." He stared into space for a few seconds. Mr. Tersen was about to prompt him when the Scotsman exclaimed, "Naugh," and grinned hesitantly, shaking his head. "Must 'ave had a _wee_ drop more than I shoulda' las' night. Its nothin', lad."

"O... kay. Sir." Mr. Tersen slowly turned to return to his post, more confused than ever.

Scotty shook his head once more. "Still... never havin' Aldebaran whiskey again... " he muttered to himself.

x

Waving off the assistance of a nurse tending the few patients in sick bay, Spock set Kirk down on a bed. After that, he grabbed a medical scrub from a cupboard and then peeled the damp clothes off Jim. He placed the large shirt over Jim's head and helped him into the sleeves. Jim sniffled and wiped his nose, looking balefully out of place with his feet that hung several feet from the floor.

"Spock, 'm tired," Kirk said with a sigh, his arms loose at his sides.

Spock stopped in mid-reach, about to grab a blanket from the supplies closet. It was a great surprise to him that Kirk knew his name. What was stranger still was that the captain seemed to have no notion of how strange it _was_ that he did. He appeared to be unaware of the changes his body had undergone and what he should know and didn't. Almost everything was new to him, exempting Spock, and for whom the situation was to a certain degree, fascinating. A situation of this sort had never presented itself before and he yearned to know more about what physiological and biological effects the change had taken on the human. But that must wait. He would not deprive his captain and friend of the rest he so needed.

"I have factored in that high probability, Jim." Spock indulged in the use of Kirk's informal name of choice.

"J- Jim? That's... me." He said it with such determination and understanding that his grasp of the subject did not surprise Spock in the slightest.

Spock turned around, a folded coverlet in his hands.

"Yes, your name is Jim. Would you perhaps tell me if you are aware of where we are?" He came over. "Lay back," he commanded softly, spreading the cover out on the bed. Jim obeyed, scooting into the pillow that was propped up. He hugged his knees.

"I think so. This is a ship. You are Spock." His eyebrows drew together. "I don't know... where..." He was at a loss for the right words, and struggled to make himself understood. "I remember the cold and dark, and you. And that we are not there anymore. You... saved me."

"Your phrasing is not entirely correct, for you were never in any real danger," Spock answered simply, just as McCoy rushed in.

When the doctor saw Spock he grimaced, but then froze and his eyebrows shot to the roof. His eyes narrowed as he slowly went over.

This not being a particularly welcoming face, Kirk shrunk down behind Spock and took the Vulcan's sleeve in his little hand, peering out at the intruder with wide eyes

"Spock, don't tell me you found a kid down there and decided to bring it home, did you?" he asked, horrified. Before Spock could set the doctor on the correct course of understanding, he continued briskly; snappishly, "What happened down there, and where's Jim?"

Spock opened his mouth to try and reply again but there came a small voice that stopped him.

"I'm Jim," the little captain said with a slight trace of fear in his voice.

"Doctor..." Spock said warningly at the outraged look of disbelief blooming on McCoy's face.

He managed to rein it in, working to relax his features. Whatever was going on, this was a child. And goddammit, where in the galaxy had that child _come_ from?

"Okay, Spock, would you mind _telling me_ what this is all about?" he asked, crossing his arms.

Spock didn't remind the doctor that he had been trying, and would have succeeded two point five minutes ago if not for several interruptions.

"Yes, doctor. What I have surmised is that this _is _Captain Kirk. While on the planet, we were separated in caves that we were not aware had pools containing de-aging minerals. The Captain accidentally fell into one of them, do not ask me _how_, and was hence transformed, if you will, into a child of approximately four Terran years."

Not for the first time the doctor questioned the Vulcan's sanity and gaped at him.

"Do you expect me to believe...?"

"Doctor; I do not lie."

"Yeah, yeah," he waved the comment away in exasperation, "just please in god's name explain to me _how…_" he gestured weakly towards Kirk.

Spock knew he was not talking about the physical occurrence.

"I have placed the shirt he wore—host to an excess of the liquid—in a sealed container that will be sent to Science as soon as possible. We will analyze the components and deduce the correct procedures to follow. I know not what that might entail."

McCoy took a deep breath, thawing to the idea that _one_, Kirk had been turned into a child and_two_, that that child was now in his Med Bay. It took some getting used to.

"At the present, Doctor," Spock continued, looking down at Jim, who looked to be asleep on the medical bed, "we shall need to examine him to exclude any possibility of harmful contamination."

"Right now...?" McCoy suddenly found the idea of waking the sleeping child against some principal he stood for.

"Yes, Doctor, now." With that, Spock gently lifted Kirk by the underarms so the little boy was sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He clung to Spock and leaned against the Vulcan's arm tiredly. Spock gave McCoy a look and the doctor grumbled, going to get his things.

Jim didn't complain as Spock turned him so that he was facing the doctor, and he didn't react when McCoy pulled out a hypospray, but it was when said hypo was a few inches from his bare arm that he became aware of what was going to happen. He didn't like the look of that thing. Not at all. He whimpered in protest, his eyes enlarging to twice their normal size as he took in the instrument of torture.

"Spock... " he wailed in sudden fear, scrambling back as much as he could into Spock's chest. Warm hands found his and though they swiftly encircled him, he realized the position was neither comforting nor wanted. He _wanted_ to be away from that thing. But Spock took care of him, why was Spock letting the scary man near him if he had that thing in his hand? Kirk was very confused, and very frightened.

"Spock, Spock, I don't—I don't want to—" The four-year-old tried to express his distress with language but as that was failing rapidly, he resorted to the most powerful weapon known to man: tears. James T. Kirk started to cry.

Taken aback when the small boy on the table started sobbing, Spock froze, though his mind was working a few miles more a minute than it usually did. McCoy only looked a wary mix of startled and concerned, the explosive power of human children not at all his forte. He did watch though, and in growing amazement. For though Spock stood stock still for several seconds, McCoy clearly saw that grain of what could only be called intuition enter the Vulcan's mind.

Spock's eyes did not wander from Jim and his hands did not stray as he settled into a crouch to be face to face with the child. Or, even better, slightly lower so as to illicit trust in the small being.

The very fact that Spock's large brown eyes were suddenly mere inches from his own was enough to dry Kirk's tears in seconds, though only _for_ a second, and he continued again, louder this time.

His sobs bounced off all of the gleaming surfaces in Med Bay and made McCoy cringe, but just when he thought nothing he or Spock could do would ever help, the cries subsided into quiet hiccups. His attention elsewhere, McCoy looked uncertainly back to the pair and was disturbed to find Spock in a mind meld with Jim, his eyes closed to allow for full concentration. He opened his mouth in protest; the ancient Vulcan process of joining minds surely not healthy for a child. Before he could voice his concerns, a smooth, sure voice slipped into the air.

"Doctor, we can proceed; I have explained to Jim that no harm will come to him and that both you and I are friends to him. Can we prove this theory correct?" Spock asked with a touch of camaraderie. McCoy's eyebrows rose an inch, his mouth opened in amazement, and his wide eyes fell down to a now very happy Jim. The young boy's arms were wrapped around Spock's neck, his head just under the Vulcan's chin.

"Uhhhh, yeah. Yeah, let's do that." _Before_ the cure all can wear off, he thought with slight admonishment to himself. If it worked, who was _he_ to challenge the method?

Spock carefully stood up, and Jim had to let go, but the Vulcan placed his arms around the small human quickly to continue his presence as much as possible. He hugged Jim to him and the little boy fell into it, holding Spock's arms and leaning sideways on his chest.

Kirk held on firmly to his protector, the calm, rational being having an effect on him. He was still as McCoy very gently administered a general vaccination and then ran a scanner over his body, but whimpered again when the doctor reached out to take his chin. He turned his head away and looked with great hesitance at Spock, and then at the doctor, wondering yet not protesting if his guardian would allow the contact. He himself had no say in the matter, and he knew now that this person, 'Mah-Coy', would not hurt him, but he was aware of the fact that Spock _did_ have a say. He knew that if he did not wish to be touched, Spock would take that into account. At least, he would always _be_ there for Kirk if something he really didn't want to happen, needed to. Though it hadn't been very long since the darkness, he sensed this to be true. He trusted Spock.

Spock looked down at him when he realized there was a problem and his eyebrows drew together.

"Jim, Doctor McCoy will only look in your mouth to see if you are in good health. Please allow him to continue."

"O—okay," Kirk said, his eyes now locked onto the doctor. Sooner than expected, cold hands were on his chin, lifting it up. There was an intake of breath as Kirk gasped.

"Open, please," McCoy said softly, repressing his usual gruff assonance.

Kirk obeyed, but welded his eyes shut, not liking the feeling of foreign hands on him at all. They were wrinkly and calloused and dry, not like the ones he was used to at all.

When it was over and the hands were removed from Kirk's face, the little boy sighed in a mixture of relief and exhaustion. He felt his eyes flutter momentarily. He tried to keep them open, but that was a hard thing to do for a sleepy four-year-old. He heard voices around him, but they quickly dissipated as he felt consciousness leave him. Warm, welcome hands gently placed a blanket over him, lingering a moment longer near his head. Just as he slipped into sorely needed sleep, a healing glow sparked in his temple; with it coming a presence Jim could not explain. It was _some_how familiar, and though Jim was barely aware of it, his young mind, fully capable of rejection, connected itself to this other being; this protective awareness that _knew_ and _loved _and was _there_. Though he had entered this new world mere hours before, he was not alone. And some_thing_… some_where_, told him he never really had been.

* * *

**A/N: **So. Little Jim is adorable, yes? ;) I went back to the beginning; did it work? ^^ Hopefully I'll make this some kind of series, but the only problem is that I'm doing NaNoWriMo right now and its taking up a lot of my time, so when it's over, I'll write more for this. Also, please review; constructive criticism, comments and love are all welcome, even if it's just saying you liked it. Reviews are what writers live on; it only takes you two seconds, and I would really appreciate it.


	3. Chapter 3

**I just have to say thank you to all who read, favourite ;) watch and/or took the time to review this story. I wouldn't have gotten this far without you.**

* * *

Spock stood with his hands loosely behind his back, facing a human child, asleep in the folds of a Starfleet Regulation Medical blanket. His blonde, strikingly Terran hair was splayed slightly on the fluffy pillow. The sound of slight reverberations in his throat caused by sleep and relaxed muscles bordered on a light snore. Kirk's hands were curled about his chest, his left clutching a portion of the blanket that wrapped around his small body on the bio bed. He was the perfect image of peacefulness and innocence, which Spock could appreciate despite his analytical thought processes.

The lights in Med Bay had been turned down in prep for the ship-wide commencement of night-time hours, a simulation of Earth's daily rotation. Not bound by such parameters, for Spock, the option of going days or even weeks without sleep a biological benefit available to him since early adolescence. He did not feel the need for sleep. His attentions were 61.54 percent on Jim Kirk; the other 38.46 on the responsibilities of being placed in the rank of Acting Captain. There were reports to be done, arrangements to make, calls to place…

And he was spending his time observing with the utmost care a human child who simply _happened_ to be his commanding officer. He straightened a fraction when he realized a moment later the illogic of his actions. Kirk was being taken care of in the best possible environment on the ship with a twenty-four hour nurse aid on call and a ship brimming with able-bodied men and women sworn on an oath of fealty to the _Enterprise_ and its commanding officers, including this one small being with no knowledge of any of it.

And though there were safer places to be than in space, on a Starfleet Starship, this was the most rational, possible place to be on said entire ship. Logic dictated that the _Captain_ would be perfectly fine. Unless of course they came across pirates, Klingons, or a multitude of other imperilments he dared not think too much of.

"Doctor," he said finally to a one Doctor McCoy, who leant against a medical scanner strayed in and out of dozing as he watched Spock, who in turn watched Kirk. "I assume the Captain will be well looked after here. I will come first thing in the morning."

The doctor yawned from behind him and didn't answer right away.

"Wait. Spock, you mean that you're…"

Just then, the prim and punctual form of Communications Officer Nyota Uhura appeared in the doorway, accompanied first by a gasp and the a high-pitched squeal of, "Oh my god, it's _true!_ Oh… he is so _sweet..."_

Right behind her were Sulu and Chekov, the latter of which quickly followed Uhura to the bed where Jim slept.

"Ach! A weetle boy, Uhura, you vere right!" he joined in her excitement, a grin wide on his face.

"But I didn't know it was true! Especially until I saw it for myself…" she rattled on mostly to herself as she fluttered her hands around Jim.

"I just _knew_ something had to be up when I heard someone had seen Commander Spock with a little _kid_." The light, airy, feminine tones of her voice were heightened by the attraction to human cuteness.

"What? There's _actually_ a kid here?" Sulu echoed uncertainly, as if unable to believe his ears. "How is that even _possible?_" he looked first to Spock, then McCoy, whose expressions were both disappointingly blank with surprise, before moving around his two comrades to get a better look at the young boy.

"Excuse me!" The loud grumble of McCoy stopped them all in their tracks and they turned to look abashedly at him and Spock, their eyebrows up their foreheads in mock-surprise.

McCoy rolled his eyes at all of them. Loudly, and with disgust.

"Lieutenants, Ensign." Spock addressed them coldly. Sulu coughed uncomfortably, Uhura looked anywhere but at Spock and Chekov… Chekov was Chekov and smiling patiently like nothing in the world was amiss.

McCoy frowned at the shift of power, though couldn't help but grudgingly allow it. He really didn't want the entire crew in his sickbay and Spock would surely get them out… but it was still _his_ sickbay. He _liked_ his sickbay. And he liked his sickbay clear of people when one of his charges was trying to some get much needed sleep.

"At the moment," Spock continued, "I require the three of you to vacate Medical Bay. We have a sleeping child that needs not to be disturbed. Is this clear?" Spock's eyes shone over all of them, expecting to be obeyed yet not above reprimanding them if he was not.

Sulu's eyes tightened suspiciously and he nodded tightly before saying, "Commander, where… is… the Captain?"

Jim stirred but nobody was currently paying him any attention.

Uhura had wondered this too, but had been distracted by the thought of a young boy on the ship. She blushed. Where _was_ Kirk?

Chekov's eyebrows drew together and his mouth opened and then closed.

McCoy scoffed the question away and Spock took a breath before addressing them in quiet, clipped tones.

"As this information cannot under the circumstances be kept from the crew it would be in our best interests to inform them directly."

"But zir, what ez ze news?" Chekov looked with genuine confusion that so irked McCoy that he had to restrain himself from blurting out something he really shouldn't. Damn kids should never be let on a Starship…

"This boy-" Spock stopped.

Though it was the truth, these were humans he was talking to, and inclined not to take any word, even and perhaps _especially_ a Vulcan's at face value. Therefore, his hesitation was perfectly logical, though he could not see any other way of phrasing it without avoiding the topic altogether.

"This human boy so very far away from any Terran settlement…" Spock paused at their looks of sudden and serious surprise. He hadn't really given them any time to grasp the situation but all had in moments. But, just in case they had _heard_ him wrong, the three moved closer, their eyes glued to his. Spock bristled slightly at this attention but continued, turning his eyes to Jim in the Vulcan equivalent of embarrassment.

"…Is James Kirk, and _Captain_ of the _Enterprise_."

Nobody moved for a thick five seconds. Sulu gaped, Chekov's eyes bulged as he immediately tried form some sort of explanation for what he had been told. He hesitantly looked over his shoulder in incredulity at the small form whose chest slowly rose and fell with sleep, and sighed heavily in sympathy.

"_What?_ How did _that_ happen?" Uhura voiced all of their thoughts, denying the obvious fact that something like that made absolutely no sense in the universe, instead skipping to trusting the Vulcan.

To their growing amazement, Spock explained to them what had happened. Afterwards, Sulu gulped, feeling slightly woozy. He snuck a peek at Kirk—a kid no more than _five_ at most—and quickly turned back with a repressed shudder. Chekov looked ahead of him blindly in confused shock, his mind reeling.

"So—"

"Kirk is a _kid? _This one? This just… _happened?_" Uhura practically shouted, turning to Jim and leaning down beside him to look into his face with a kind of intensity. It took mere moments for her to see the resemblance when she was looking for it, which was actually not a resemblance at all. She gasped, instinctively reaching out to stroke Kirk's dirty-blonde hair. "Will he ever be the same?" something a kin to tears threatened in her voice and McCoy spoke up in a gruff statement of fact, keeping his voice calm in respect.

"We're not sure yet; Spock has to analyze the water sample on his shirt before he can come to any sort of conclusion." He looked anywhere but at Uhura, who was looking at him with _damn_ huge eyes. He cleared his throat, "Then we can see what can be done. Little bastard better be thankful—"

"Doctor, that is enough."

"Yeah." McCoy then looked rather ashamed of himself and crossed his arms again, sighing.

There was a heavy pause as all grappled with the information. Spock, besides thinking of what he would find later in the Science department, looked up from watching Kirk when Sulu spoke up.

"Guess this means no more shore leave down on Orion?" he chuckled, a suggestive glint in his eye.

Uhura shot him a look to which he immediately help up his hands.

"So_rry_."

She glared before turning back to the now Acting Captain.

"Spock, I can stay with him if you have things to do," she looked to Jim with concern.

"That will not be necessary, Lieutenant, as Doctor McCoy is well capable of handling the child."

_The child_. It made Uhura gulp uncertainly.

"I don't know how well, and I don't know if he'll make less or _more_ trouble in the state he's in, but he can stay here for as long as you need." McCoy offered gruffly.

Spock nodded his thanks.

"Spock," Uhura said carefully, "—and this is nothing against you, Leonard—but don't you think he should be in one of _our_ quarters instead of sickbay? This isn't exactly a place I'd want my child to sleep for more than a few days. He needs some sort of normality." Her eyes were brimming with unshed tears and her voice held only concern.

"And he will receive it."

"How?" she demanded, softening her tone. Chekov mirrored her sudden ease of the situation. He was glad and certain, now, that the little boy would be well cared for.

"I will need to take several hours for analysis of the sample, but after that I will take the Captain's wellbeing as my personal responsibility." He looked into each of their eyes, subtly conveying the cool collection of command and the truth within his words.

Uhura seemed satisfied with that answer and nodded, looking to Sulu then Chekov.

"Come on, guys." There was something tired in her voice, but a small smile to her lips. She knew Spock well enough to say that when he said something, he _meant_ it.

They nodded mutely, and Sulu followed the bobbing high ponytail of Uhura's hair out of Medical Bay. Chekov was at the threshold when he stopped and turned back to the pair of tense men.

"Keptin?"

"Yes, ensign?"

Spock then looked more tired that he had several hours ago.

"You vill nyet leave him alone… correct?" he seemed to have trouble voicing these personal thought but Spock got the gist of what he was saying and shook his head for the Russian's benefit.

"No, ensign. He will not be alone."

Chekov looked relieved to hear it and nodded too, swiftly exiting the polished, gleaming room.

"…Poor Kid."

Spock turned to look at him.

"I meant uh…" McCoy floundered for an answer but stopped when he realized he didn't have one. He walked over to where Kirk slept.

"All of ya."

In the background of a very un-McCoy-like smile that would have looked like a grimace to anyone who did not know him, a perplexed Spock refrained from raising his eyebrow at the illogic of some humans. He did, however, look to the ceiling as if searching for Surak somewhere among the Medical Bay lights. No matter how well he thought he knew Humans, they continued even then, to find ways of surprising him.

x

"Jim." Spock said sternly, stopping just inside his quarters room door. Jim was already half way to the bedroom but stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Spock, his eyes adorably squinted his mouth set in a perfectly fake smile as if it would be the end of him if Spock asked him to come back.

"Yeeee_ah_?" he said hopefully through his teeth. He sure hoped Spock wouldn't make him eat more vegetables... those in the mess hall had been gross _enough_. His smile faltered as he remembered the slimy texture of spinach on his tongue. How anybody _ate_ that stuff...

"Please come back and take off your shoes."

Oh. He snorted, skipping back and pulling off his shoes. He put them neatly on the mat next to the door.

"Zat good?" he looked hesitantly to Spock, whose hands were clasped behind him.

"Very. Thank you, Jim."

"You're welcome, Spock." Jim grinned and went off running into the bedroom to the left of the main room. The corners of Spock's lips turned up and for a moment, he wondered why he would want to suppress the emotion he felt just then. No one was around, and he did not need to set an example for little Vulcans, nor need to pay respect to any Elders. And even if Jim were not going to be changed back to the way he had been, he was still human. It would have been unfair to the child if he pressed the Vulcan culture onto him.

With this in mind, Spock took a breath and did not think of berating Kirk for making a little _too_ much noise. He slipped off his own shoes before going to find the human he had been tasked with caring for and took a set of pyjamas from the transparent dining room table where he had set them earlier that day. It was time for bed and human or no, Jim would be _in_ bed by twenty-hundred hours if _he_ had anything to say about it.

Spock entered his bedroom and was stopped in his tracks by the very human pose Jim had taken up. He was lying on the carpet facing the floor-to-ceiling window that reflected the Penthyon Galaxy they were currently in, his feet swinging back and forth in the air and a hum coming from somewhere in his chest. He had a glowing PADD on the floor in front of him and hadn't noticed Spock as of yet.

Adamant about interrupting, Spock placed his hands behind him and waited patiently for several minutes.

It was not long before Kirk stopped what he was doing and turned quickly around, his eyes huge and bright like moons. He jumped up, happy Spock was ready, and ran straight into the Vulcan's legs, hugging them as tightly as he could. Spock shot his arms out for added balance and opened his mouth in surprise, his eyebrows climbing far into his forehead.

"Mmmm—hhmmm." Kirk giggled, moving from side to side and swaying the Vulcan slightly.

"Jim…"

"Oops, right. Sorry, Spock." He let go and bashfully held his fingers.

Spock leant down so he balanced on his toes.

"It is time for bed, little one. I have sleeping clothes here, do you need my help to put them on?" he was gentle in his speech and Kirk looked at the clothes thoughtfully, finally nodding seriously.

"I can do it."

"I knew you could."

Kirk grinned at Spock, beaming with pride.

"Here you are."

"Here I am, what?" Kirk asked, before his eyes spied the folded clothes in Spock's hand.

"Oh." He blushed and took them quickly, turning away. Spock's eyebrows drew together as he let the small boy take the clothes, and didn't stop until he stood up and blinked a few times. He exited the room dazedly; waiting by the window in the living room that lined his apartment for Kirk to come out.

Jim eventually did, yawning as he went. The small pj bottoms dragged along the carpet and the tee-shirt was proportionally too large on him.

"Spock, can we go to bed now?" he looked tiredly up at the Vulcan, one hand rubbing his eye. "Pweeze." He wobbled, and Spock bent down swiftly to scoop him up.

"That would be a wise idea in your particular state."

"Parti—_what?_" Kirk asked from Spock's shoulder, his little eyebrows drawing together as Spock set him down on the bed in the dark room. The only light came from the two wall-lights on the side of the master bed and along the walls, shedding ovals of peach light onto the floor.

Kirk settled himself on the bed so his legs hung over the edge of the bed and he felt the softness of the coverlet under his fingers. He rubbed it with a smile.

Spock went to the dresser when Kirk was distracted and pulled out a pair of dark, soft pants. He set them on the flat, wood surface and then pulled off his Science station shirt first, then the black undershirt, dropping them in a plastic bin off to the side. He stripped off his pants methodically, putting them in the bin too and taking his sleepwear from the top of his dresser. He heard a giggle come from the bed and he turned, pants in hand to look at Jim, a reprimand on the tip of his tongue. He thought better of it when he saw the small body lying on the bed shaking with laughter.

Jim was clutching his stomach and rolling from side to side, giggles erupting as he let forth the most illogical of emotion. Spock sighed and stepped into the pants, the elastic in them fitting snugly onto his firm waist, just touching a dusting of fine black hair.

Kirk had finally stopped laughing but was still grinning from his place perched on the bed, the promise of laughter surrounding him.

"Would you tell me the answer if I asked you what made you laugh, Jim?"

Jim shook his head, smiling bashfully.

"No."

_Of course_, and Spock had no answer to that. He sighed, grabbing a brush from a pottery vase on the dresser and going to the tall, sleek mirror on the left wall. He started to brush out his short black hair when he realized what had been so funny to Jim. His hair was a _mess_; as it usually was after he dressed, and stuck out on all sides. His bowl-cut, so neat a moment ago was now going every which way. He sighed; humans' sense of humour would never cease to fascinate him. He quickly finished, pulling the soft, fine brush through his straight black hair. He had inherited his father's black hair; Vulcan hair.

"Jim, we must finish getting ready for sleep." Spock concluded finally, putting the brush back in its holder and turning to the human. "Off of the bed." He motioned to the bathroom just passed the living area and Jim quickly scrambled off, shrieking all the way as he threw his hands up in the air.

"Wheeeeeee!"

Spock contained the look of horror on his face and followed Jim to where he had stopped to catch his breath on the couch, his little arms draped over the other edge as he stared into space.

Spock was just about to direct Jim to the bathroom when the four-year-old spoke with pure curiosity.

"What planet are you from, Spock?"

Being a Vulcan, and knowing Kirk to be of high intelligence, Spock did no such thing as contain amazement or even consider spinning a fantasy a human would most likely do to help the child understand. Spock knew Kirk could handle the truth, but _perhaps_ not all of the truth.

"My planet is Vulcan, young one." It was; it just wasn't physically in existence at the current date.

From where Spock was just to the right of the sofa, he could see Kirk mentally try and make the 'v' sound in the name. From his face, Spock knew the small boy was aware of his limitations…

"Buh—buul—" he looked to Spock almost apologetically, yet Spock knew exactly what Jim wanted.

"Vul-can." He said it slowly, emphasizing the separate syllables.

Jim concentrated, mouthing the word along with Spock.

"Vvv—" he started, looking to Spock for direction.

"Correct."

"V… ul—can. Vul—can. Vuuhl… kuhn?" he crossed his eyes quizzically and then smiled up at Spock. "Vulcan…?"

"Very good." Spock nodded subtly, allowing just a trace of _pride_ to seep from him. Kirk grinned.

"Is Vulcan like Earth, Spock?" Kirk asked, cocking his head to the side as he turned around to sink into the cushions.

"Vulcan is…" Spock was hesitant about using the present tense, but being too truthful in this case could perhaps not be the wisest course of action. No matter the strength of their mind, he would not even impart the knowledge that a planet was simply no longer there to a four-year old Vulcan. They were simply too young.

"Vulcan is a desert planet. Like the deserts on your Earth but on a scale many times larger." He looked out into Space.

"Was it fun playing in the sand?" Jim's sweet voice of youth washed over Spock with a mix of human innocence and cold longing. Besides when he was very small, he had never really 'played' in the sands of the Forge. His father would have severely reprimanded him if he had, and sand alone at the time had seemed uninteresting to him. He had grown out of the wonder of it by his second birthday.

"I indeed spent many nights in the dunes of Vulcan's largest desert." He said simply. "Not exactly 'playing with sand' as you stated, but close."

And though he was looking out at the stars and planets passing by as they sped through space at low warp, Spock saw plainly the tiredness in Kirk's eyes.

"Come, Jim, we must get ready for bed."

Kirk looked up and nodded, hopping down from the couch and padding softly into the bathroom.

When presented with a toothbrush, Spock was unsure if Kirk would require assistance or even remember the piece of equipment essential in the evening preparation for nightly rest. Without voicing his uncertainties, he held the sonic brush out to Kirk with one lithe hand. Up on a dining room chair, Kirk's head just skimmed the underside of the Vulcan's chin. With his right hand, Kirk took the tool and peered at it for a moment, finding the button easily.

When the brush started to vibrate, Spock saw the giggle bubble up from the boy and couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth. Kirk grinned at him in the mirror.

First, he took the cool cup of water from the counter and took a drink before sipping a bit more and swishing the water around in his mouth. He spat it out into the sink, licking his lips. He then stuck the toothbrush in his mouth, proceeding to scrub and scrub like there would be no tomorrow.

After the sufficient several minutes and without being reminded of the time, Jim spat into the sink and rinsed his mouth once more, handing the brush back to Spock.

"Is that it?" Kirk asked, his hands twitching at his sides.

"Now you must wash your face. There is soap here," Spock indicated a bottle with a button on the top as he placed the brush in its container on a shelf just to the right of the mirror.

Kirk first ran his hands under the automatic sink, which shifted from cold to warm when the mechanism sensed his hands, and splashed his face with that. He smiled, the water tingling. He shook his head, getting drops on everything including Spock's bare chest. Spock looked down in surprise and Kirk looked at him, his face conveying 'oops' like a neon sign. Spock sighed; it seemed like he was doing that a lot today, and grabbed a towel, drying off his middle section.

"Keep going," he ordered gently, and Kirk turned back to the sink, red in the face.

He carefully squirted a handful of bubbly soap onto his left hand and held his hands under the sink again to get some water. He worked up a lather, his tongue out of his mouth as if he were conducting a sensitive experiment, and then gently rubbed his face with the foam. He carefully rubbed his cheeks, nose and forehead but being particular about not getting any in his eyes or mouth.

Satisfied, he rinsed his hands and then his face, being sure to get all the soap off, and without a word of warning hopped down to dry his face and scoot out of the bathroom.

Spock was left wondering if he had missed anything. His eyebrow rose at that and he exited the bathroom himself, seeing from across the living room Kirk already burrowing under the covers of his bed.

He really shouldn't have been surprised at the abrupt and energetic nature of Jim Kirk; his Kirk was like that and—it came back to him suddenly that this _was_ his Kirk. Just… younger, and with barely any recollection of his adult life, besides close connections. It went against logic that it would be so, but it _was_ so. He hoped he would not have to remind himself a second time of the circumstances he had been unwittingly placed in.

"Come _on_, Spock!" Kirk yelled good naturedly from the bedroom, his head and mussed blonde hair poking up from the grey comforter. His grin seemed infections, and Spock worked to keep his expression neutral. Enough time in the company of a human child and he would certainly become one himself.

"Computer, all lights off save the necessary shi'yuk wall-lamps."

Immediately and without response, the ship's computer dimmed the lights to nothing besides the glow coming from the bedroom.

"What was that word you said…?" Kirk asked when Spock walked in, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion. He had never heard it before.

"You are referring to '_shi'yuk_', correct?" Spock realized he had said it only moments after. It had become a habit, after he discovered that by programing the computer to accept voice commands in Vulcan he could boost his efficiency by 3.427%.

Kirk nodded, looking over Spock's shoulder into the dark. It looked almost like he had forgotten about the question and was otherwise distracted by the open door.

Before he answered, Spock looked over his own shoulder into the dark living room.

"Would you prefer it if the door were closed, Jim?" he turned back to Kirk, who nodded from where his mouth was hidden under the covers. His eyes were locked somewhere past his Vulcan caretaker.

Spock closed the sliding double doors with a low _thrum_.

"As to your question," he turned back to Jim, "It is the word for 'bedroom' in my native language of Vulcan."

Kirk looked surprised Spock would have his own language and his lip thrust outward, his eyebrows knitting together.

"_Shi'yuk_?"

"Precisely." Spock walked around to the left side of the bed, bending down to lift the thick covers and slip under them. With his naturally lower-than-human body-temperature, he needed to stay warm in the room's lower temperature atmosphere. He had done this to account for Jim; a small price to pay for the comfort and well-being of the human child in his care.

"Spock, what's the word for human… in Vulcan?" he turned to Spock, who was resting with his hands steepled just on top of the covers.

"There are several words. _Terrasu, qom'i_, and _komihn_, with _qom'i_ being the most accurate."

"Qom'i." Kirk tried the word out, tasting the texture of it on his tongue.

"Keep in mind that this is only the Vulcan word for people from Earth. They-"

Spock paused only a moment but a dozen thoughts ran through his mind. Who was he in the grand scheme of things? He had no planet of which to call his own though technically, he shared his heritage with the eleven billion inhabitants of Earth. He was human, if only half. Would it be proper to refer to himself as a part of the human world now that he was no longer tied to the Vulcan home-planet. But, the Vulcan world was not gone; his people were rebuilding on a planet not too far from the Vulcan solar system… but that was not his home. That was where Sarek had re-located, but not his home. He supposed the _Enterprise_ was his home, if only for somewhere to place the tag. It felt, not sad exactly, but wrong in some way not to have a home. He knew that even _if_ Vulcan had not been destroyed by Nero, he would still be on the _Enterprise_. Would it have made a difference? Yes, it would have. Just because he was not residing on his home-planet would not have meant it wasn't his home. But now that it was gone… he could suppose that he had made a home here. He was needed here; he had people who cared about him here. Logically, his home was here. That did not mean he grouped himself with Terrans as a species. He was as genial to them as he would have been any other species, more so even, considering his biology. It was simply because he had been raised on Vulcan, knew Vulcan culture, and spoke the Vulcan language, that he considered it his natural culture. That was why he could not use the term 'we' when referring to humans, as much as a part of him urged him to. It was simply not _him_.

"They also call themselves 'Terrans' from their ancient Latin word for Earth: _Terra_."

Amazed at how much Spock knew, Kirk looked at him with wide eyes.

"What about…" he looked around, and stopped on the glass. "_planet'_?"

"_Ek'tra_."

"_Ek'tra_." Kirk repeated again, smiling this time. He then yawned and scrambled more under the covers, pulling them over his entire body so he was just a lump.

"Computer," Spock said softly, "Lights off."

The lights shut themselves off at his command and prompted, "Will that be all?" in the pleasing tones of a Terran female's voice.

"Yes, Computer."

Kirk poked his head out so just his eyes were visible to Spock, "Who was _that?_" he whispered.

"The Computer; it is voice activated and speaks back on occasion when necessary."

"Uncle Frank doesn't like _me_ talking back." Kirk said with a slight inclination to his voice that suggested annoyance.

"Well, your Uncle is not here right now, though talking back is considered disrespectful to Elders in most cultures."

"Yeah, I know. Hey Spock!"

"Yes?"

"Get under the covers!" Jim giggled, disappearing from view again. Spock complied, easily lowering himself down so his head was sideways on the pillow. He waited until Kirk showed himself. And he did, like an eskimo, all wrapped up in blankets. The little human grinned at him, his white teeth shining in the starlight.

"It's warm under here." He whispered happily. Spock silently agreed.

Silhouetted against the galaxy beyond, he saw Kirk's small form. The human's hair was feathery, and his face tired as he looked down.

Jim breathed in a comforting scent; it was like spices and healthy humanness. Or, _Vulcanness_. Whatever it was, Kirk liked it. He breathed in again, moving closer as he did so.

"Spock…"

"Yes, Jim?"

"You smell good."

Where Kirk could not see it, Spock allowed a tiny smile to grace his features and his eyes softened.

Kirk looked up at him, his eyes wandering around the Vulcan's face, finally stopping on something just outside his right eye. He started to reach up then stopped, indecision on his face.

Nodding gently, Spock stopped him from uttering a sound and leaned in slightly.

Kirk hesitated, but finally found the soft ear with his small hand, curved to a point at the top. Fine hair Jim could just barely feel made it like velvet to touch, all the intricate ins and outs making a maze for his fingers to explore. He ran a finger from the bottom lobe, all the way around to the very top. His fingers stopped on the point, taking it with his index and thumb as gently as if he were stroking a butterfly. He inhaled with wonder, marvelling at how strange Spock's ears were, so alien compared to his own. He touched his own with his right hand, comparing the difference with touch. His was definitely smaller than Spock's, and obviously less pointed.

He moved his hand away, trailing his fingers along Spock's neck. The Vulcan's skin was cool to the touch, and black silky hair drew his fingers up near Spock's ear, around his face.

Soft, silky, and warm, like dark, sweet chocolate he could feel, Kirk lightly tangled his fingers in the short hair. He liked that; it was comforting. Spock's breathing fanned his face and he listened. He listened to something, something out of sync with himself.

"Spock, you're different…"

Before Spock could comment, one small hand was pressed to his abdomen, right over his 242-beats-per-minute heart. He was embarrassed to say it jumped then, going well over 300 as a warm hand covered it. Just a thrumming; _vibrations_. Spock was the one to suck in a breath and hover his hand just above the covers in surprise. He was still; motionless, as his young Captain felt the urgency at which the heart of his Vulcan First Officer beat. Too fast already; the increase frightened him.

"Are you _okay_, Spock?" Kirk asked in a quavering voice, shifting his hand slightly on cool green flesh just dusted with soft, downy hair.

"Yes," Spock answered perhaps a bit too quickly. His instincts made deliberately delaying a response to his commanding officer extremely difficult. It physically hurt him to see Jim agonize over _his_ wellbeing when all that really mattered was the human's. Jim, _Yes, I am here. I am well. Do not worry. Please, do not worry._

"My biology is different from yours; my heart being one of the more obvious factors of that." Spock kept his voice strong and clear, though his mind was anything _but_ at the moment.

Kirk was silent, and Spock felt the human wiggle slightly, then the full press of a body so much smaller and warmer than his own made him stop breathing for a full five seconds. When he exhaled, he did so to the sensation of a consciousness he could not prevent from entering his mind. Thoughts of deep _caring_ and _love_ pulsed through Jim, and into Spock, making the Vulcan's heart burn even hotter and his ears turn a very bright green. He gulped hard.

When he could hear Jim breathe over the pounding of his own heart, Spock gently moved his hand under the covers to slip onto Jim's head. He caressed the warm, soft locks, so feathery and light. His hand twisted in them, and he was made aware of how large it was in comparison with the small head. He felt a sense of _possession_ take hold of him, and he fought to stay gentle.

Surely, his hand felt the soft, human curve of Kirk's ear, and he smiled, just a slight upturning of the corners of his mouth, in spite of himself. It felt so _right_ that the thrumming in him practically overflowed. Not so much a lover's love, but a deeply ingrained… brotherly love. One that he could not deny, its pulsing rhythm so great.

He heard Jim gasp, and he immediately withdrew, making the human shudder.

"Spock… what _was_ that?"

Spock's hands held the human a sufficient distance from himself, for one second horrified that he had hurt Jim in some way. What he heard in the light voice was only wonder and…_ longing._

He had done something, and then pulled away. This was not right. Barely thinking about it and yet with the utmost care, he pulled Jim closer to himself again, both of his arms around the small body. He felt Jim's hands, curled in front of him, press to his chest as he sighed contentedly.

Spock held Jim close and closed his eyes finally, controlling just down to a trickle the _love, warmth, _and _protection_ that flowed through his very being and subsequently through touch, into Jim. He did not want to overload the small humanoid with such raw emotion; emotion that he knew exactly how and when to shield. Now was not one of the times when he needed to know those carefully protected secrets of control; he now shared everything he felt.

Though, as with the Jim who was fully grown, imparting such personal feelings was always a mental struggle with Spock. His brain steadily rejected what he was telling it; that he could share these things. It was not logical. But it was. To the fullest extent, he knew it was.

Satisfaction radiated from him, yet… one watching would, upon first look, not even notice how integrally connected the pair were. For it was not something easily gained or identified.

Of that, a certain Vulcan was sure.

* * *

**Please leave any comments you have after you've finished reading; all are appreciated (=**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Here we are :) It's been a bit of a wait, but this story doesn't come as naturally as others to me. As a note, this story has no _real_ plot; it's the complete and utter fluff (encapsulated in the journey to get Kirk back to his regular self) my brain enjoys way too much. In any event, I hope you like the outcome of my efforts ;)

* * *

**Nightmare**

_For one so small,_

_You seem so strong_

_My arms will hold you_

_Keep you safe and warm._

_This bond between us_

_Can't be broken,_

_I will be here_

_Don't you cry_

**Several Days Later**

Kirk woke up in a cold sweat, hyperventilating himself awake. He gasped and bolted upright, his hands automatically going to the space next to him. It was empty and he recoiled, his eyes dilating in the pitch black. His breathing calmed marginally as he concentrated on sight. There was a faint glow at the end of the bed and he crawled on top of the cool covers.

It was the line of light coming from under the door; was Spock out there? His heart pounded and he crouched down in indecision. It could be a monster who was holding Spock hostage. But if he made a noise the monster might come in and get him. He didn't want that, but he couldn't let the monster eat Spock. That would be horrible; nobody wanted to be eaten. He had to do _something_.

Jim inhaled to clear his head and held it in for a moment. He could do it.

His PJs protected him from the cold and he slipped down, his bare feet hitting the carpet loudly. He thought it was loud, anyway. He paused, listening. He didn't hear anything. That was strange. Monsters made noises. Gurgley noises and growls when they barred their teeth trying to scare people. Maybe it had _already _eaten Spock. He gasped in horror. What if he was too late?

Without thinking twice, Jim lightly pushed on the door and it slid open just a bit too fast. He jumped back into the room in fright, flattening himself against the door and breathing hard. When seconds passed and still he didn't hear anything, he slowly peeked into the living room.

He inhaled quietly.

Spock was meditating. His pale green visage was just visible from the light of a small pottery lamp at his side. The single flame flickered. The smell of incense wafted around Jim and the little boy sniffed curiously. The scent, though unknown to him, had the bitter sweetness of steeping tea. It made the room warmer and he found himself comfortable drawn to it. The source, he soon realized, came from the lamp. The lamp itself looked like two plates joined together horizontally, with a spout, just like a teapot. Only without the tea. A trickle of smoke rose from the flame.

Unafraid, Jim padded over to examine the smoke. He stood a fair distance away, feeling as if he shouldn't disturb even the symbolic representation of Spock's peace.

He rubbed his eyes as he began to feel sleepy. Wobbling, Kirk managed to get around to Spock's side and flop down on the carpet. He looked up at Spock, noticing something a second later; Spock didn't look exactly peaceful. Jim knew meditation should be. Why did he look so worried? Jim didn't like that, but he didn't want to touch Spock. He remembered from somewhere that you shouldn't disturb anyone when they meditate.

To Jim's surprise, however, his presence stirred the Vulcan.

Spock opened his eyes, confused for a moment why he had come out of the trance. A movement in his periphery caught his attention and he was startled to see Jim barely awake sitting next to him.

Jim blinked.

"Jim." The inflection in Spock's tone almost made it a question.

Jim went wide-eyed, his surprise turning to worry.

"Spock," he smiled but it fell quickly. "Are you okay?" he was hesitant, though trusting of his instincts. Something was off, he could feel it.

A small crease appeared between Spock's eyebrows but he soon realized what was causing Jim's tension. He was silent. He did not know if it was the right course of action to make Jim aware of his condition and the trouble they were having with tracking down the cure. It was a challenge, and with each passing day Spock was less sure they would succeed. They knew they would find something, yet a part of him wondered if it would be in time. He needed time to sort his erratic thoughts, and this time he admitted to himself, he had not been entirely successful.

"There are questions I need answered and I am having difficulty achieving that. Meditation is a way I work out my problems—though it does not always afford a quick solution."

"What do you need to figure out?" Kirk asked this after a moment, moving closer to Spock so his shoulder pressed into Spock's side and his head rested in the niche between his ribs and arm. Spock looked down affectionately, reminding himself that the human need for touch was especially potent during childhood. Being careful not to jostle Kirk, Spock slipped his arm around Jim's small body and held him close.

Even in the silence, Spock might not have heard the sigh Kirk made without his sharp hearing.

He was suddenly hit with how much he felt the need to protect the small being at his side. It had been days since Jim had been changed to a child and in that space of time Spock had felt this before; it was sometimes unnoticeable, and at others, a powerful urge that would prompt him to act unlike himself in favour of Kirk's needs.

He was not unfamiliar with this state of being, this precarious test of his control and the rewards that came with it, as his bond with the older Kirk had prompted much the same reactions in him. Only, this was in many ways different. His behaviour bordered on the parental, and he realized that was exactly what it was. Over the past few days his every thought had been tinged with where Kirk was, what he was doing, and if he was well cared for. In instances he even found himself wondering if the small human was _happy_. When Spock checked on him from the bridge he would usually sense the playful awareness of his de-aged captain somewhere in the ship with a trusted officer or lieutenant. He would have of course trusted any of the _Enterprise_ crew with Jim but he felt more secure if said person was of the core command staff or chosen by himself personally.

Feeling these little glimpses of Jim _safe and sound_ assured Spock, and he would visibly relax. He did not know if he wished to control these needs. They did not interfere with his thought processes any more than another part of running the ship would have. But he could not ignore the fact that Jim was not just _another part_ of running the ship. He was… something else entirely.

And something was off. When Jim had lain down beside him Spock had sensed a nervous disposition; _from a dream_? He did not often dream but knew how erratic they could be. Dreams, especially in humans, could not usually be controlled and if Jim had even a slight worry about anything, it could magnify. Spock hesitated. He wished to observe what was causing Jim stress but did not want to frighten the human with his presence. Adult Vulcans oftentimes helped children through the mind, and it did not harm them. He would be careful then.

Spock closed his eyes, opening his mind _just enough_ for the sleeping human's dreams to filter in through their makeshift link.

In a twirl of light and sound and sense, Spock suddenly found himself in… Engineering?

He was viewing it from high up in the gallery, from a state of mind rather than body. Though he still had control and awareness of his own mind, Jim's thoughts and feeling were as clear as his own, as if he were part of both beings. He was instantly aware of Jim's physical presence, swinging his feet over the edge with only the bar to stop him from falling a hundred feet to the floor below. Spock felt a twinge of annoyance but remembered if he was not careful, Kirk might be affected by his own thoughts. He smothered these, becoming objective and allowing the young cadence of Jim's mind to settle into him as if they were one.

Mr. Scott—_Scotty—_was there with them, _him;_ Jim.

Jim liked Scotty; the man's accent was funny and he took him down into the ship whenever he asked. Right now Jim was high up and could see everything going on deep in the ship. As he sat on the edge of a walkway with his feet hanging over the edge and his arms over a lower guardrail, he saw everything from minor human folly to brilliance, all tucked away behind glimmering tanks and steel doors so thick that if they were hollow, he could probably squeeze his small body in them with no trouble. Scotty talked over the roar, knowing exactly how to make himself heard. The noise—a great and thunderous background of mechanical music—had shocked him upon arrival on his first day; the moment the turbolift doors opened it accosted his ears almost unpleasantly. The whir of the engines when the ship accelerated into warp drive, or powered down to use thrusters was not as loud, and he liked that. The constant hiss of steam and water moving through endless glass pipes tangled his mind; he wished he knew how it was all connected.

"So—" Scotty continued with his explanation to one of Jim's questions, "the generator must supply the pump with the amount of energy required for the turbines to spin at approximately 650 rotations per minute, or—" The Scotsman paused for effect to which Jim turned to him indulgently—"just enough times to get the water from down here to up _there_ where ye use it te brush yer teeth and the kitchens to make all kinds of—well—" he blushed, coughing in embarrassment "—almost everything the ship _does_ uses water. And that's what _that_ does." He pointed to a giant cylindrical pump. "Hydro Engineering at its best." Scotty seemed to daze off then, his fingers pausing in their calculations at the station a little off from Jim.

Jim nodded, though he didn't really understand everything Scotty said to him. Scotty was fun and took him places Spock never would, but he didn't know how to really talk to Jim. Of course he did a little, but there was a difference between being talked to like a child, and an adult. Jim was four; he couldn't understand everything, but if you put in simple terms he usually did. Spock wasn't really any better at it, but he would usually stop and realize Jim didn't follow, then he would rephrase it. Usually he got it the second time. But there was a difference between the other crew and Spock. Uhura was like a mom to him, all the boys like big brothers, and even McCoy had a place as a kind of dad, always watching out for his wellbeing and telling everybody when it was "too much excitement for one day; put Jim _down_, Sulu!" Jim giggled under his breath. It was _never_ too much, but he supposed there was a point, somewhere. He just hadn't found it yet.

But—that was the difference. He couldn't place Spock like he placed everybody else. Spock was his safe place, the place he went to when he was tired and sleepy, or hungry or cold. It made his tummy hurt sometimes just being away from him for too long.

"Really?" Jim said, just to get his mind back to reality. "But how do you keep the electricity away from all the water, if the ship uses it for everything?" He knew that would be a problem. Scotty was talking about all this water, and then the electricity, but Kirk knew that the two didn't go together. If they did it made it spark, and that wasn't good.

"We keep the water in tubes and the electricity running through wires. If we can help it, the two never touch. They're needed for different things, too, so they never need to be close. Although—" Scotty's face lit up and he turned to Jim "—sometimes when people do need electricity and water together they take all the _stuff_ out of it—" Jim scrunched his face up; he didn't know even clean water had stuff in it. "And then they can use the two together."

"But when would they use them together?"

Scotty was silent as he tapped in several figures that corresponded to the ones on the PADD he was holding on his arm. "Well, we don't very often, because it's a tricky thing, but when we do it's sometimes to cool down vast amounts of nuclear energy that—if it were to heat up, which it does naturally—would create a huge mess that would take many years to clean up. In history there have been several—ehm, explosions—and I can tell ye right now to mix the two is never easy. They can have a great reward though; once they learn to work together." Scotty chuckled.

Jim looked down at the people scuttling in and along the generators. There must be good reasons people use the two together when it could endanger other people so badly.

As the young boy pondered this, something caught his attention. He sniffed the air. That smelled like the same thing that sometimes wafted in from the garage when Uncle Frank would smelter something. It was always a sickening smell that made Jim go inside or upwind whenever he could. There wasn't much of it, but he noticed it. He looked around. Other people didn't seem to be reacting to anything. And nothing looked to be wrong. Maybe it was just his imagination…

Or not.

Jim sprang to his feet and looked around in alarm. Where was that _coming_ from?

"Of course, nuclear power is used in the engines. I dinna think of that—"

"Scotty!"

Scotty jumped, turning to him. "What—what is it, lad? I—What is _that_?"

"Look!" Jim pointed frantically over the railing. There was no denying what he saw.

Scotty looked to where he pointed and went pale. Down below, smoke had begun to billow out of one of the generators. People had noticed it too, and now there came frightened cries and scrambling of anyone within sight. Kirk stared in frozen horror.

Scotty scrambled away from the ledge to the control center he had just been working on and pressed the emergency alert. This initiated a blaring claxon and the lights went red to alert the ship of the worst kind of danger, a danger even Klingons and Romulans could not rival—fire.

"Captain!" Scotty shouted into the comm., an unshakable determination in his voice.

"Mr. Scott, what is the emergency?"

Spock, now alert and paying close attention to everything that was happening, surreally heard his own voice coming from the comm. unit.

Kirk jerked his eyes to the unit and Spock felt the young human's yearning for _him_ pass through and settle in his chest. It was heavy and wilful and had an odd taste to it. As if his inaction to this feeling was a betrayal.

_I am here_, Spock sent in a thimble's worth of reassurance. He felt Kirk's reaction, just a slight steadying of his suddenly jumbled mind. He was afraid, but held onto this as Spock had seen few humans demonstrate even well into adulthood.

"Fire, Captain!" Scotty ended the call and rushed into the adjacent hall, intent on putting out the flames. Kirk squeaked, realizing he was alone_._

Moments later, thankfully, Scotty reappeared. Kirk looked up at him, his relief melting to terror again because he knew with a rational mind that, somehow, it didn't matter if he was alone or not. On a Starship, everyone feared fire. This knowledge brought tears brimming to his eyes; they were all in danger.

Scotty quickly but carefully picked Kirk up, balancing him in his arms, to rush off down the hall. Kirk buried his face in the engineer's shirt and held on tightly.

The smoke hadn't reached the halls yet but Kirk could smell it. It was a horrible smell, one laced with acid and electricity.

"Dover! Thank_ god_."

Scotty stopped at the station where two crewmembers were working frantically on the system. The one closest stopped in his work to glance at Scotty, his desperate mounting when he saw Kirk was with him.

"Take Kirk up to the Bridge, just take him somewhere else. I canna have him down here and I have to—" Scotty broke off when an explosion rocked the ship, making them all stumble. When he thought it was safe, he set Kirk down.

"Jim, you'll be alright going with Tommy, aye?"

Jim nodded, "Yeah. Where are you going Scotty?" his voice shook and he clutched the hem of his shirt.

"I have to go and make sure that fire gets put out. So be good for Tommy and I'll see ye later, brave lad."

Kirk could only stare in open-mouthed speechlessness as Scotty hurried away. He started when Dover knelt in front of him, his face too close. Kirk backed away slightly, scared and shy.

"Hi, Jim." Tommy smiled, though it didn't reassure Jim any. "We're friends, okay? I'm going to take you up where it's safe, so you have to trust me. Can you do that?" His eyes were honest, and betrayed only a hint of the fear the young lieutenant felt. He was also serious, and asked Kirk to plainly, waiting even though there wasn't any time to spare, that Jim nodded quickly.

"Uh-huh."

Dover smiled quickly, relieved, and scooped Kirk up. He shouted something in the other man's ear over the roar coming from the lower levels. The man nodded and resumed frantic work. Kirk was scared for him as they rushed away. Dover held Kirk tightly as he sped up several flights of stairs. Kirk dared to look this time, though when the smoke was suddenly choking he gasped and turned his head away, coughing into Dover's shirt.

"Oh god."

Jim heard the uttered oath of horror and felt Dover pause. He couldn't help but peek out and see what had stopped him. Through the smoke, Jim saw the silhouettes of two people. A tall man pounded on something extruding from the wall, Jim didn't know what it was, and a woman lay on the floor holding his pant leg. Jim gasped, and then started choking on the smoke again.

Dover quickly put Jim down and rushed over. Jim wobbled on his own at being put down so fast, and pressed himself to the side of the corridor automatically. He watched, coughing occasionally, as Dover tried to help the man with the machinery. Jim looked around; maybe if he could find some help the woman would be okay… oh—_there_. Down the hall there looked like somebody was using a panel.

Without looking back, Jim rushed over as fast as he could. But just as he got there the man disappeared into the smoke. Jim was too surprised to call out, and now the smoke was hurting his throat. He swallowed and looked around again. There wasn't anybody anywhere, in any direction. But, somebody had to come eventually. If he just stayed there—no, he had to go. Those people needed help. Desperately he craned his neck trying to see through the warm grey haze. He took a few shaky steps to see down the end of a corridor, and leaned around the corner.

He gasped; it was Spock. He had been wishing to find Spock but—

Spock, eyes closed, lay on the ground unmoving, his head tilted towards Jim.

_No, no, no, no…_

Kirk was paralyzed, staring at the body. He began to shake, and then sob. He was suddenly there, on the ground beside Spock. His vision was blurry as tears ran down his face and smoke wafted around him. It wasn't real, it couldn't be. He couldn't tear his eyes away, and each second made the blackness close in on him just a little bit more. Sound faded out and all that was left was the cold. He sobbed again, and a hand was on his shoulder. He didn't even look, the grief filling up his chest like he was drowning in it. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't think, he couldn't—_!_

Jim heaved, the cold air a shock to his body. _Again_, _not again_. His face was red and tear stained, and the hand on his shoulder scared him. He jumped up, turning around to see Spock kneeling on the floor, his face for all the world looking worried for some unfathomable reason. Kirk was struck with a wave of relief, and his dreams were all suddenly just smoke, gone. He rushed into Spock's arms, letting a tidal wave of hurt and relief and comfort and never ending _love—_Spock_, _Spock,_ Spock, never leave, please please never never _never,_ don't leave me I couldn't—I couldn't—_"

"_Jim._"

Jim's thoughts quieted at the ghost of his name and Spock's warm arms pulling him close, holding him, rubbing him silently. He pressed his face to Spock's shirt and gripped it, crying quietly.

"Spock." He mumbled through tears and fabric. His throat hurt. He coughed and hiccupped, the cool air like cleansing water. He sighed, sniffling, just being still as he felt the steady rhythm of Spock's heart lower down. Spock was warm, and if he relaxed Spock's arms held him. _Safe._

"_Ka'i. Ka'i, ka'i_…" the warm words whispered were soothing, as though their meaning were crystal clear. _Here. Together. Safe._

X

It was long minutes before Kirk stirred. Spock looked down at him and found a small smile for the human. Kirk smiled in return, but it was tired.

"Spock?"

"Yes, Jim?" Spock's voice was low but he spoke to Kirk as if he were an adult.

"Could I please have some milk?"

Spock's eyebrows knit together and he recalled an instance, once, when he was young, of his mother offering him warmed milk during the night when he could not sleep. He had thought it odd then but now he wondered if it was practice among humans. It could not hurt, and Jim seemed to need it at this moment.

"Yes, I believe that would be acceptable."

Spock started to get up, holding Kirk in his arms, when Jim spoke up.

"Can I stand, please?" he wriggled just a bit and Spock set him down on the floor, holding his hand for a moment to be sure he was able to stand. Jim wobbled but then released Spock, going with him to the kitchen. Spock, while keeping an eye on Kirk who seemed to be interested in seeing everything that happened up on the counter, pressed a few buttons on the replicator. It was mere seconds before a glass materialized with the milk. Spock opened the machine and took the glass. He knelt down so as to be eye-level with Kirk, and carefully held it out to him. Kirk smiled gratefully and took it.

"Thank you, Spock," he held the glass in his small hands and Spock suddenly worried about its weight. Kirk looked with large, drooping eyes at the glass, and after a second lifted it to his lips to take a long, content drink.

He licked his lips and sighed as the liquid made him feel full and sleepy. Then Spock had the glass and he was in bed, Spock's warm arms around him. That night, and all the nights after, he slept without nightmares when Spock was near.

* * *

_Ka'i – here now/I'm here now; VLD_

Thoughts and love are appreciated, whenever ;)


End file.
